Made it to 100!

I've just done the list for my October reading over on my "lists" blog (Lists and Such) and discovered that I've now read 100 books so far this year. Technically, it is actually 101 (and 101 was a delight) but I'm focusing on the "passing 100" aspect.

I want to do my list plus a paragraph of comment thing over here and it's a bit late tonight for me to do that now, so I'm going to attempt it tomorrow.

I'm trying an old favourite author who is a less favourite one now and have just started the new Valdemar novel by Mercedes Lackey. I've only read two chapters so it is much too soon to comment, but it feels comfortably familiar if not earth-shattering.

I do wish I had the energy to share more about the books I've been reading because while some as nothing more than escapism, there are often still things I think of blogging about, but I'm more interested in carrying on with the book than stopping to write. When I have time to write either I've forgotten or I'm tired.

Sigh.

Oh well. I'll do what I can.

How silly is this?

I can't resist giving these people a bit of free advertising.

I could survive for 51 seconds chained to a bunk bed with a velociraptor

Created by Bunk Beds Pedia

Second Chances

Progress at 20th October, 2008.  First motif done in Carrie's Creation threads, Deep Purple.

Now I get to use the same pretty red as is in Book of Ink Circles for the next motif.  It's bedtime for me now, so I have it all ready to go and shall start it tomorrow.  I find I'm loving stitching on the 32-count fabric and I'm looking forward to working on the rest of this project.  It will certainly remain my focus project for the immediate future.

Happy Boy

Marcus is NOT a good eater.  We had had battles, frustrations and attempted bribes galore to get him to eat.  The current plan is a star/reward chart with set goals for him as he earns his stars.

Last night, by eating his dinner and then not screaming or yelling when his hair was washed, he earned enough stars for a WALL-E toy he has been lusting after.

It took trips to two toy shops to find the exact one he wanted, but we did and there is now a very happy boy playing with his new treasure.

Second Chances

I'm just packing up for my trip tomorrow, so here's what I've done so far on Second Chances before putting it away for travelling.

Book of Ink Circles

Hooray, I'm up to date again with Book of Ink Circles.

What Next?

I'm working on the latest part of Book of Ink Circles while I decide what to stitch next, but for any obsessed stitcher, that's a big decision to make.

I managed to whittle the stash down to four.

1. Celtic Band Sampler by Homespun Sampler


I'm going to stitch it on Very Vintage 32-ct Belfast linen from The Blended Needle, using DMC floss. (The Blended Needle hasn't existed for years, showing how long this has been in my stash. I originally bought it to stitch L&L's In the Arms of an Angel when I was pregnant but didn't feel well enough to stitch so it's been waiting to be used for something else.) I really do like this, but I think it's a bit bigger than I want to work on at the moment, so it's probably my fourth choice at present.

2. Cirque des Circles by Ink Circles


I just love this and I love the fabric (black 32-ct Belfast) and the thread (Dragon Tongue silk floss from HDF) I've chosen for it. But I'm going to spend about 10 days with my parents next week and I don't have a stitching light there. Since I'm planning to do this 1 over 1, I don't think it is a practical choice to begin and then need to put aside for a while almost immediately.

3. Second Chances by Ink Circles


I have the recommended Carrie's threads for this one. I hadn't really thought about what I was going to stitch it on when I remembered I had a piece of opalescent Dusk 32-ct Belfast from Silkweaver. I bought it as a possibility for Chatelaine's Watergarden but it was much to bright and too purple. I hadn't planned to do this sampler on anything as dramatic, but the Carrie's threads look just beautiful on it. I'm going to do this 1 over 1, but I think I could do it at Mum and Dad's even without a light as it's not dark like the black. I'm really, really tempted by this.

4. The Bookshelf by Little House Needleworks


I bought a bit of Flax 32-ct Belfast for this today. I'm going to change some of the authors from ones I don't really know or don't appeal (basically the more American ones) and because I've never had any interest in reading Wuthering Heights, change that picture to belonging to Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca. This will be standard 2 over 2 and it's the smallest pattern so it is probably the most sensible one to start. But I remain tempted by the others, especially the two Ink Circles ones.

What do readers think? What should I stitch next?

A finish

I finished Sampler del Lago Maggiore last night. I'm delighted with how it turned out and since it's a Christmas present (for my parents who visited Lake Maggiore last year - and they know about it as Mum helped me pay for the GAST threads) it's nice to be finished with plenty of time to spare.


Sampler del Lago Maggiore
GPA Designs
Started: 1 June, 2008
Finished: 8 October, 2008
Stitched on 32-count Belfast linen (not sure of the colour)

Thieves and assassins

I've been reading through my blog feeds and noticed the continuation of a trend.

Lots of books where the hero and/or heroine is either a thief, an assassin or both.

With a few exceptions, I hate these books. If I read a blurb that mentions either word (or "con man/woman" for that matter), I immediately turn off. Maybe I'm missing some good books (after all, I loved Robin Hobb's Fitz books) but I don't really care.

Now you might, if you work at it, convince me about thieves. But how do you make a hero or heroine out of someone who kills people for a living? And the whole point of a con is essentially to make a fool out of someone - usually a nice, ordinary someone. As a person who hates feeling like I've been a fool, I'm not prepared to read that either.

Why is this such an "in" theme in books at present?

September Reading

September reading up on my other blog.

Cumulative Totals:
Books read so far in 2008 = 87
DNFs so far in 2008 = 13
10/10 reads so far in 2008 = 12
New reads so far in 2008 = 68
Rereads so far in 2008 = 19